A touch of cream Sherry amplifies the sweetness of the nuts and the squash.
Ingredients
Makes 6 first-course servings
Step 1
Bring chicken broth and Sherry to boil in medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and keep warm.
Step 2
Meanwhile, heat oil and 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and squash; cook until onion is translucent, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add rice; stir until rice is translucent at edges but still opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Add 1 cup warm broth; simmer until almost absorbed, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Add more broth, 1 cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding next until rice is just tender, stirring frequently, about 25 minutes total. Stir in chestnuts, thyme, and marjoram. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter, cheese, and parsley. Season risotto with salt and pepper and serve.
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Reviews (18)
Back to TopThis is SO GOOD . Here’s how personalized it—I used only one cup of the arborio rice and per other reviews I cooked some of the squash with the rice and added the rest (steamed until almost fully cooked) towards the end and I used real chestnuts that I roasted a few days before-- YUM
Rachael
Ocala, FL
9/20/2022
Family totally loves this dish and have made it multiple times over the years. It’s like a comfort food for us. I do hold back some of the squash until later in the cooking as it dissolves into the dish if cooked too long. More a cook error than a recipe error I think. We love it as written and the recipe is forgiving.
San Antonio
12/19/2020
This dish was wonderful and heart warming. I used vegetable broth and a little cherry liquor for the liquids, and dried thyme instead of fresh (didn't have any marjoram). 19 minutes were enough for the arbiorio (package instructions called for 18). Topped it with fresh pepper and fresh parmesan shavings, and we just couldn't have enough...
olgak1
Athens, Greece
11/12/2011
I will tweak this recipe for the future, most importantly omitting the cream (dessert) sherry - too sweet! The squash is sweet, the chestnuts are sweet - just too much sweet for my taste. The fresh herbs help, as does the umami of the cheese, but recipe will be better without the sherry (IMHO).
andie1024
San Rafael, CA
12/21/2010
This dish was wonderfull. I made it for Christmas and by the time I went to get a serving there was none left.
Anonymous
Shelby Twp, MI
1/29/2008
Fantastic recipe with a complex, rich flavor! I substituted vegetable broth for chicken broth, vermouth mixed with half-and-half for the creamed sherry, tarragon for the marjoram and thyme. Otherwise the cooking procedure was as written. Personally I loved the chestnut addition (bought peeled in a jar from Trader Joe's)... This recipe will become a standard for me.
ecotone
12/16/2007
I made this as a thanksgiving side- no one ate it. It wasn't good at all. It was tossed out at the end of the dinner. What a shame- a lot of effort for nothing.
Anonymous
brooklyn, ny
11/23/2006
I made this as described except for using a bit of rosemary in place of the marjoram. It didn't work for me--I couldn't taste the squash, and the chestnuts (frozen from Trader Joe's) made the dish mealy. That said, my husband liked it reasonably well. If I were to do it again, I'd try the previous reviewer's suggestion about keeping some squash out til the end, and I would greatly reduce the quantity of chestnuts.
mbhan
San Diego, CA
11/11/2006
This is insanely good. I've made it many times and have experimented with technique to make it just about perfect (I think). The only shortfall of the recipe as written is that the squash gets so soft by the end it sort of gets lost. I withold 1/3 of the diced squash, steam it until almost fully cooked, and add it toward the end. That way you have more distinct squash bits. Prettier too. And for those concerned with time-- you can add 3 full cups at the beginning (maybe even more), stir until absorbed, and then start the 1/2 cup at a time method. The end result is virtually indistinguishable from the 'textbook' version, and it's far less tedious.
Anonymous
Chicago
9/29/2006
Would it change the results much to use vegetarian broth rather than chicken?
eilym
Vermont
12/20/2005
I made this recipe exactly as described (but doubled it). I tried to roast the chestnuts myself, but it didn't work out too well - I couldn't get the shells off about half of them. I used 1/2 roasted chestnuts and 1/2 jarred chestnuts. The result was good, but not great. I served it as a main course, but I think it would be better as a side dish only. I might also add the chestnuts earlier next time and/or chop them more finely (?) - I found them not hot enough and too overpowering for the risotto (in terms of volume/texture, not flavor).
ktgray
Los Altos, CA
12/15/2005
This was fabulous! I just used all of the butternut squash and I used the recommended amount of chestnuts. I think the proportions don't really matter that much - it would be hard to mess this up.
LawlorM
Indianapolis
12/1/2005
这道菜非常好。我收到吨排版liments for the 12 people I served it to for Thanksgiving. I doubled the recipe and only used about 1/2 of the chestnuts. You can really taste the sherry. Or maybe it's the aroma? It wasn't super easy though. And I mean that as far as the time it took for the risotto to soak up the broth. Lots of stirring and a big time commitment. Thankfully, everything else I made just had to be baked because I prepped ahead.
chamdex
Richmond, VA
11/28/2005
This dish is delicious but I would suggest adding the chestnuts slowly and to taste, as two cups would have overwhelmed the other flavors.
Anonymous
San Diego
11/24/2005
Very good! I only used 1 cup of chestnuts - thought 2 cups was too much.
Anonymous
Glen Rock, NJ
12/29/2004
